Reaching New Heights
by BroomballKraken
Summary: Margaret is trying her best to overcome her fear of heights before the steadily-approaching Firefly Festival, as she's heard that the best place to view them is from the very top of the Observatory. She has a bit of trouble at first, but luckily she receives help from an unlikely source.


"Come on Margaret...You can do this…"

After mumbling a bit of half-hearted encouragement to herself, Margaret gulped as her eyes remained squeezed tightly shut. She sucked in a nervous breath through her nose, the warm summer air doing nothing to calm her rapidly beating heart and the nausea bubbling up within her gut. She tried pressing her back further against the inner wall of the Observatory tower, but she was as far as she could get without phasing through the wood like a ghost. A gust of wind suddenly swept over the tower, and Margaret let out a frightened squeak as she dug her nails into the wall behind her, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter.

Margaret's plan of getting over her fear of heights was not going well so far. The Firefly Festival was to be held in a week's time, and everyone in town had the same opinion on the best spot for viewing the beautiful fireflies. The Observatory overlooked the entire town, along with the surrounding forest and distant mountains, and the view was supposed to be unmatched. Margaret could only speculate about that for herself, because her crippling fear of heights prevented her from being up so high without reflexively keeping her eyes tightly shut. She was determined to overcome her fear this year so that she could look upon the beautiful sight for herself, but she wasn't sure that determination alone was going to be enough to help her succeed…

"What are you doing?"

Margaret shrieked and jumped away from the wall, startled by the sudden, unexpected voice. Her eyes shot open, but she immediately regretted it when she noticed that she had ended up way too close to the railing, prompting her to launch herself back to the inner wall and clamp her eyes shut again. Her arms stretched over the cool wood, her fingers desperately trying to dig into the solid surface, as if she'd be sent flying over the railing and to the ground far below if she let go.

"Jeez, calm down already."

Cracking open one eye, Margaret saw Dylas standing in front of her, effectively blocking the horrifying bird's eye view that the Observatory had to offer, and she let out a deep sigh of relief. She turned herself around on shaky legs and pressed her back against the wall again, bending her knees slightly as she let herself slide down the wall a bit.

"Oh...It's just you, Dylas. Don't sneak up on me like that! You scared me half to death!" Margaret said, her eyes narrowing as she pouted at him. Dylas rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I just walked through the door. You're the one being scary with those weird noises you're making."

"Ugh, rude!"

"...I'm not wrong, am I?"

Margaret only huffed in response and turned her head away, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Dylas...was an interesting person. Margaret had thought he was abrasive and off-putting when she had first met him, and was wary when Porcoline offered him a job at his restaurant without knowing anything about him. He was a weird horse-man who had been a monster terrorizing the Water Ruins only a couple of days before, so Margaret thought that her wariness was justified.

However, over time, Dylas had managed to start opening up to the inhabitants of Selphia, and Margaret's opinion of him had improved considerably. She and Dylas - along with Arthur - had surprisingly formed a special bond, due to Porcoline's fondness for the three of them, and that fondness was mutual all around. Nowadays, Dylas often complimented Margaret on her musical skills, and more frequently asked if he could sit in on her practice sessions. It was kind of weird at first, but Margaret surprisingly found herself able to focus more when Dylas was there. His presence seemed to...relax her for some reason.

"So...You going to tell me why you're up here screaming?" Dylas asked, and Margaret turned back to him, letting out a deep sigh as she let herself slide all the way to the floor.

"I'm...trying to get over my fear of heights," she mumbled, drawing her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. "It's...not going well…"

"I can see that." Dylas said, uncrossing his arms and placing his hands on his hips, "You can't even open your eyes up here unless I'm blocking your view."

"T-That's not true, I can totally-" Margaret tried to protest, but Dylas stepped to the side, and her eyes snapped shut automatically when the warmth of the sun hit her face.

"What was that?" Dylas asked, a sly smirk on his face when Margaret opened her eyes after he moved back to his original position. She glowered at him, but that sour look was quickly replaced by dejected frown, and she groaned as she pressed her face against her knees.

"Ugh, it's hopeless. I'll never get over this in time…"

"In time?" Dylas asked, a curious tone to his voice.

"Yeah…" Margaret responded, not looking up, "I want to be able to come up here during the Firefly Festival. Everyone always says that this is the best place to see the true beauty of the fireflies, but I guess I won't ever know what that's like…"

Margaret's stomach tied itself into knots as she sniffed and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. She really was hopeless, and she was even spilling out her insecurities to Dylas of all people. He probably thought that she looked like a weak loser. How embarrassing.

"Hey."

Margaret bit her lip and quickly blinked the moisture from her eyes, before she lifted her head just enough to expose one eye to look at Dylas. Her brow knitted in confusion at the sight before her, and she lifted her head fully from her knees. Dylas' head was turned to the side, avoiding her gaze, and one hand was extended in her direction. She tilted her head, too confused to respond, and Dylas huffed at her after a few more moments of awkward silence went by.

"Take my hand. I'm going to help you get over this fear." Dylas said, turning his head away again as his ears twitched. Margaret just stared dumbly up at him. He really wanted to help her? This was probably a trivial thing to him, and a waste of time, so why…?

"Hurry up already. I don't want to be here all night." Dylas grumbled, waving his arm in her direction. Margaret hesitated only a moment longer before she held up a shaky hand and placed it in his. Warm fingers closed around her own and Dylas tugged Margaret to her feet. She felt her stomach churn a bit again, but it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. Huh, maybe this would work…

Dylas turned slightly towards the railing of the Observatory, and when the view of how high up they were was left unobstructed again, Margaret let out a terrified squeak and wrapped both arms around Dylas', holding it tightly as if her very life depended on it. She pressed her face into his shoulder, and when she felt him tense up, she slowly turned her gaze upward.

"...You could've just kept holding my hand…" Dylas grumbled, a dusting of pink appearing on his cheeks as he avoided meeting Margaret's gaze. He sounded slightly annoyed, but he didn't push her away, and Margaret was very grateful for that.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you. Trust me." Dylas continued, taking a step towards the railing. Margaret's legs began trembling as she stayed rooted in place, but Dylas did not try to tug her towards him. He glanced back at her instead, with a calm, patient look on his face.

Swallowing thickly, Margaret took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She repeated this process three times, and she kept her eyes glued to the floor as she lifted one foot off of the ground and took a step so that she was standing even with Dylas. Her grip on his arm tightened considerably as she realized that she was closer to the railing of the tower, and the color drained from her face as her heart started beating so rapidly that she thought it might burst from her chest.

"You're fine. It's okay." Dylas said, and Margaret's eyes widened when she felt his free hand fall onto her shoulder. The contact chased away a bit of the terror that coursed through her entire body, and when Dylas started gently rubbing his hand back and forth from her upper arm to the back of her neck, a calm warmth began to take the place of the feelings of terror.

"You ready for another step?" Dylas asked, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder, and Margaret pursed her lips at the loss of the comforting warmth. She then took another deep breath and nodded slightly, her gaze locking onto her feet as she and Dylas took a step together this time. Her grip on his arm tightened again when she felt a gust of wind blow past them, and her eyes squeezed shut again as they took another step. She knew that they were at the railing now, but she was unable to force herself to open her eyes.

"How do you feel?" she heard Dylas ask. Margaret took in a shaky breath and pressed her face against his shoulder again, her heartbeat hammering hard in her ears as she tried to calm her erratic breathing.

"...T-Terrified." Margaret mumbled, her voice muffled as she spoke into his sleeve. Dylas hummed in response and his free hand fell onto her head, his fingers gently running through her hair. She immediately felt more at ease, and she sighed in relief as her heart calmed itself a bit and her breathing regulated.

"Well, the sun's about to set, and that's a sight that'll probably rival the view of the fireflies from up here." Dylas said as he removed his fingers from her hair. Margaret's interest piqued at that. She had watched the sunset countless times before from ground level, and she had always thought that it was a beautiful sight. From this high up, however, she could only imagine that the beauty would be increased tenfold. She could do this. She _had_ to.

"H-Here we go…" Margaret mumbled, taking in a deep breath as she slowly cracked one eye open. She winced as the bright light of the sun temporarily blinded her, but as her eye adjusted to the light, she let out a gasp as both her eyes shot open, her fears temporarily chased away by the breathtaking sight before her.

The first thing that Margaret noticed was the mountains in the distance. The normally white-gray peaks looked like they had been set ablaze, as the oranges and reds of the setting sun reflected off of the jagged cliffs. Her eyes drifted down to the forest below, and she released one hand from Dylas' arm so that she could grab the railing, while her other hand still held his in an iron grip. Her stomach turned slightly when she saw how high up they were, but Dylas gave her hand a squeeze, and she managed to steel herself. She would be okay. Dylas said that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she trusted him. The only sound that could be heard as she watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon was the slow churning of the windmill blades, and only when the sky started turning dark and the stars started making their appearance was Margaret able to find her voice again.

"It's...beautiful." she breathed, jaw hanging open as a look of sheer awe crossed her face. She could practically feel her eyes sparkling as a warmth flooded through her, even though the night air contained quite a chill.

"Yeah...beautiful."

Margaret turned to look at Dylas as he finally spoke, and she was surprised when her eyes briefly met his; had...he been looking at _her_ when he said that? Although, she might have imagined it, because he snapped his head to the side so suddenly, his cheeks burning a fiery red as he covered his mouth with his free hand and coughed. Margaret frowned slightly, and she hoped that he wasn't getting sick.

"Are you feeling alright?" Margaret asked, and Dylas huffed in annoyance as he nodded.

"Yeah, it's nothing." he grumbled, his lips pursing and eyebrows narrowing as he went silent. Margaret decided that it would be best not to push the issue, so she just giggled softly and leaned over to rest her head against Dylas' shoulder. He twitched slightly, but did not push her away, and she smiled as she looked out at the star-filled sky.

"Thank you, Dylas," Margaret said, turning her head slightly so that she could gaze up at his face. "I don't think I could have done this on my own. I, uh, might need to try this again a few more times before I'll feel completely comfortable up here…" She continued to stare up at him until he looked back at her, and he blushed as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

"I...guess I could help you out again...if you want me to…" he mumbled, his eyes darting away from hers when she giggled again.

"Yeah, I'd like that." she whispered, and she felt something soft brush against the back of her legs. She glanced behind her to find that Dylas' tail was swishing back and forth; she wondered if it was because he was happy. She decided against asking that question aloud, and instead opted to ask a different one.

"Will you come watch the fireflies up here with me, Dylas?" Margaret watched him with hopeful eyes, and was surprised when he looked at her and smiled softly.

"...Sure. Gotta make sure you don't chicken out, after all." Dylas said, and Margaret felt her cheeks heat up as she pouted at him.

"Gah, shut up!"

The two shared a glance as Margaret delivered a playful swat to Dylas' arm, and she fell into a fit of giggles, and even he let slip a chuckle. He didn't laugh often, but Margaret thought that it was a nice sound, maybe even one of her recent favorites. A comfortable silence fell between them as they watched the stars for a while longer, until the cold got the better of them and Dylas helped Margaret get down from the tower and walked her home.

Margaret's fiery determination to completely overcome her fear of heights had been stoked, with no small part due to the encouragement from the grumpy horse man whose hand she held the entire time. She was looking forward to the Firefly Festival even more so now, and she was happy that Dylas would be with her to share in that excitement.

* * *

The idea for this fic came from me going up to the Observatory one day and finding Margaret lamenting about her fear of heights, with Dylas also there just chilling in the background lmao

Anyway, hello RF4 fandom! I'm a rare pair shipping fool so expect more of these two in the future, plus maybe another rare pair . lol Thanks for reading!

I do have a twitter, so come follow me if y'all wanna see me rambling about rare pairs of various fandoms lmao I'm BroomballKraken there as well


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